Oregon State Baseball Advances To Regional Final With Win Over UC Irvine

The No. 15 National Seed Oregon State baseball team edged past the UC Irvine Anteaters Saturday night at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field, securing a 5-3 victory.

The win over the Anteaters secures the Beavers a spot in the Corvallis Regional, where they’ll play the winner of the elimination game between Tulane and UC Irvine. The winner of that matchup would then have to beat OSU twice.

Early in the game between the Beavers and the Anteaters, it was a pitchers' duel as both teams pitched two scoreless innings.

Oregon State second baseman Travis Bazzana opened the scoring for the Beavers with a two-run home run to give the Beavers a 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning. Bazzana’s home run against UC Irvine was his 28th of the season.

UC Irvine scored their first run of the ball game as shortstop Woody Hadeen put the Anteaters on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning with an RBI double to cut the Beavers’ lead to 2-1.

Oregon State left fielder Dallas Macias extended the lead for the Beavers in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-RBI single to make the score 4-1.

The Beavers added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh inning with an RBI groundout from right fielder Brady Kasper to make the score 5-1.

Anteaters left fielder Caden Kendle hit an RBI double to cut the Beavers lead 5-2 in the top of the eighth inning. UC Irvine tacked on another run with a sacrifice flyout from first baseman Anthony Martinez to make the score 5-3.

Irvine rallied late in the game, but righty closer Bridger Holmes finished the game on the mound for Oregon State and shut down the rally to secure a Beaver win. Holmes picked up his 13th save of the season in the process.

The Beavers’ pitching staff of RHP Jacob Kmatz, RHP Joey Mundt, and Holmes gave up only four hits and three runs to the Anteaters slowing down their high-powered offense. Before the matchup against the Beavers, UC Irvine secured 13 runs and 17 hits in a 13-12 thrilling victory over the Nicholls State Colonels to open the Corvallis Regional.

The elimination game between Tulane and UC Irvine is expected to start at 12 p.m. The Beavers will face the winner of the elimination game at 6:00 p.m., RHP Eric Segura is expected to start on the mound for the Beavers on Sunday. Weather could be a factor as an atmospheric river is expected to hit the region, stay tuned to BeaversEdge.com for all the latest updates!

Oregon State Notes

• Saturday’s crowd of 4,224 marks the third-largest in Goss Stadium history.

• Travis Bazzana became the Beavers’ single-season record holder for runs scored after hitting the two-run home run in the third inning. He surpassed Cole Gillespie who had 83 in 2006.

• Jacob Kmatz’s seven innings marked his second-longest of the season, shy of a complete-game effort against Arizona State on April 6.

• Kmatz has struck out 53 while walking just six in 48 innings at home this season. He has allowed 35 hits and sports a 0.85 WHIP.

• Kmatz is now 5-0 at Goss Stadium this season and 12-3 for his career.

• Kmatz also won his 20th career game. He is 20-8 in 45 career appearances, 44 of which have been starts.

• Oregon State improved to 6-6 all-time against UC Irvine and 4-3 in games played in Corvallis.

• The win was the 175th of Mitch Canham’s career at Oregon State.

• Oregon State improved to 31-6 when scoring first this season and 117-37 during Canham’s tenure.

• Bridger Holmes saved his 13th game of the season, moving into a tie for fourth in a single season at OSU.

Embed content not availableManage privacy settings

• TALK ABOUT IT ON THE DAM BOARD

• SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE

• SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCASTS ON APPLE & SPOTIFY

• LIKE US & FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK

• FOLLOW THE STAFF ON TWITTER - @Beavers_Edge, @b_slaught, @RivalsDylanCC, @tjmathewson, & @ryan_harlan